Teesside shop owners are celebrating after the European Commission announced it is dropping attempts to ban imperial weights and measures.

The pound, ounce, foot, yard, mile and pint are here to stay after British opposition forced the European Commission and the Government to abandon plans for an enforced metrication programme.

Intense lobbying by the Metric Martyrs campaign has helped ensure dual marking of goods in imperial and metric will continue indefinitely.

Joanne MaFarlane, of McMahons fruit and veg stall in Linthorpe Road, Middlesbrough, said it was good news for customers - many of whom still work in pounds and ounces.

She said: "The customers would rather have pounds. They always say why should they have to change over.

"Nine out of 10 customers ask for a pound of something, especially older people."

She said she has everything marked in pounds as well as grams because if there is just one amount on display many customers will assume it is priced per pound and not in grams which can deter buyers.

She welcomed the news that the ban would not be enforced but said it was a shame Steve Thorburn, of Sunderland, one of the first traders targeted by the authorities, was not alive to see his victory.

Steve always dual-priced and had metric scales and continued serving his customers the way they wanted to be served. Tragically he died of a heart attack days after his appeal to the European Court of Human Rights had been rejected.

Steven Hutchinson, who runs a fruit and veg stall in Captain Cook Square, Middlesbrough, said: "Most of our customers would like to go back to pounds and ounces.

"Only foreign people tend to go by kilos."

Metric Martyrs campaign director and former fish monger Neil Herron said it was a monumental victory down to people power.

He said: "We have shown others you can stop the tide of EU legislation.

"The public had never asked for imperial measures to be abolished and no political party had ever put it in its manifesto that they intended to criminalise the use of imperial measures.

"All that remains now for the campaign is to quash the criminal conviction Steve took with him to the grave."